Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Tomato and Corn Pie with a Cheddar Biscuit Crust

As a lover of language (or, as it's also known, geek), I get ridiculously excited about learning new words. Especially those that perfectly sum up the complexities of life in just a few tidy syllables. My grandparents would routinely used the Yiddish word kvell, neatly describing the swelling of joy and pride that overflows from heart (usually due to the accomplishments, or general existence, of grandchildren). At the height of my college pretension, I was excited to learn that angst wasn’t just a general form of anxiety, but the particular existential dread that comes from choosing between infinite options in the space of our all-too-finite lives. And on a happier note of linguistic economy, we get the perfect word for this time of year from (of course) the Italians: scorpacciata.

I'd love to tell you more about it, but I must direct you to my latest article in The Oregonian. Where, in addition to finding a way to increase your word power, you'll also find a recipe for a tomato and corn pie, tucked into a cheddar cheese biscuit crust. Scorpacciata!